The South Korean Embassy hosted a reception on Friday evening at the Korean Ambassador’s residence to commemorate the 4354 anniversary of Gaechoenjeol. Gaechoenjeol, the National Foundation Day of the Republic of Korea, means the day on which Heaven opens. This is the time when Koreans celebrate the formation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon in 2333 B.C The event was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincent Biruta, members of the Korean community living in Rwanda, other senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corp accredited to Rwanda, among other guests. In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Jin-weon Chae, pointed out how Rwanda and Korea literally overcame the pandemic together. He highlighted both countries' efforts, cooperation and outcomes of projects making up their partnership in Rwanda. Rwanda has been one of the priority partner countries of Korea since 2010. And the Korean government has become a core cooperation partner to Rwanda, carrying out various projects in areas of mutual interest, such as ICT, Education and Agriculture. “It is Korea’s solid commitment to strengthening its partnership with Rwanda throughout its journey toward its people’s prosperity and economic development,” the Ambassador said. South Korea and Rwanda have collaborated in various areas such as EBM and the tax management system, ICT capacity-building of school teachers, TVET and youth empowerment. Chae also added that this cooperation were meaningful as it laid a foundation and signified the potential for a more fruitful future collaboration between the two countries. He emphasized the value of people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation between the two countries and expressed his hope that this will be an asset in deepening the future Korea-Rwanda relationship. In his remarks, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vincent Biruta echoed Ambassador Chae’s comments, saying that both countries' relationship will continue to prosper. “Korea’s history is an inspiration to many countries including Rwanda. We’re happy to see a continuous collaboration in the areas of Education, ICT and Health, and encourage future investments,” he said. They both emphasized the importance of youth’s role in the different development projects. Chae also requested Rwanda’s support for South Korea’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan. The government of the Republic of Korea formally submitted Busan’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030 to the Bureau International des Exposition (BIE) last September. Korea’s Government and National Assembly, and its business giants such as Samsung, Hyundai Motor, LG, and SK are all actively supporting Busan’s bid. With the main theme of ‘Transforming Our World, Navigating Toward a Better Future’, the World Expo in Busan is expected to present a vision to overcome the global challenges such as climate change, downsides of digital transformation, and inequality among and within nations. Mentioning a nationwide campaign, he emphasized that Busan is an optimal city to host the World Expo with its world-class infrastructure and abundant experience of holding international events. Busan is currently competing with Rome (Italy), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Odesa (Ukraine) to host the Expo. The host city of World Expo 2030 will be elected at the BIE General Assembly in November 2023.
